Friday, August 31, 2012

KTU is a semester-long educational research program developed by the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in partnership with the Virginia 4-H, that puts scientists and engineers in front of children to encourage the exploration of intriguing topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.After the success of KTU in 2009-12, we are excited to announce the 2013 spring semester event at Virginia Tech for kids between the ages of 9 and 12 (on September 30, 2012). KTU is held in the same campus lecture halls used by VT students. Hands-on activities follow each interactive session and an online component continues the interest and excitement after the campus activities have been completed.

Spring 2013 Registration Procedure• Online enrollment begins at 6 p.m. on December 4, 2012•450 children will be accepted into the program •Those accepted will represent a geographically diverse area. •For enrollment information, please visit http://kidstechuniversity.vbi.vt.edu/•Registration is on a “first-come, first-served” basis that is open to children satisfying the age restriction, regardless of place of residence or academic achievements. A waiting list will be available after registration is full for a county or for the program.•In order to keep up with the costs of providing a quality program, there will be a registration fee of $100.00 per child, payable upon registration (no refunds). Scholarships are available. Lunch cards and a KTU t-shirt will be given to all children who attend.

Registration Fee- In order to keep up with the costs of providing a quality program, there will be a registration fee of $100.00 per child, payable upon registration (no refunds). The registration fee must be paid for by check; further directions will be given at the time of enrollment. Scholarships are available. Lunch cards and a KTU t-shirt will be given to all children who attend KTU.

2013 VT KTU Schedule

January 26, 2013 - “No bones about it: How are shells and skeletons formed from crystals?” An interactive session led by Dr. Patricia Dove, Virginia Tech

From beautiful snowflakes to diamonds, crystals are everywhere. Crystals also make up the hard tissues of animals that we know as bones, teeth and shells. We call these ‘biominerals’. In this presentation, I will be talking about the many kinds of biominerals that animals (and plants!) make to serve an amazing variety of purposes. The best known biominerals are our bones that enable us to stand and move around. But did you know that biominerals can also become structures that filter light and food? Act as sensors for sight and shadows? Provide a compass?

We will also talk about fossils and how what they tell us about how animals and plants have made biominerals for more than 500 million years. Geobiologists work as modern- day detectives to study evidence from these fossils to learn how their sizes and shapes have changed through ice ages, meteor impacts, and volcanic eruptions.

Most of our discussion, however, will be about crystals. We will see videos of actual crystals growing from atoms and talk about how they are shaped into beautiful patterns. February 23, 2013-"The Genetic Code: Is it the piano that’s important, or the music played on it?"An interactive session led by Dr. Victor Raboy, United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service in Aberdeen, Idaho

Hard-working scientists have deciphered the entire computer code of life, the complete set of genes called the “genome”, of humans, other animals, plants, fish and bugs. They figured that if they knew the entire genetic code, they would understand pretty much everything about how humans, animals, plants and bugs worked. While deciphering entire genomes has greatly increased what we know about how things biological work, it turns out that just knowing the entire genetic code doesn’t explain everything. Sometimes it hardly explains anything! There are thousands of genes in a genome and each one has an “on-off” switch or a “volume control”. If the genome is the “piano” and the genes are the piano keys, then it is how all the genes are played together, just like a virtuoso’s fingers dancing over the piano keys to make music, that is ultimately important. Scientists are just beginning to understand that it’s not only the genes themselves, but how they are “played”, via a process called “epigenetics”, that can make all the difference. We will have fun learning to understand how epigenetics works, and how we can use this new knowledge to cure disease and make more nutritious vegetables for kids to eat!

These days it seems everyone is carrying around a smart phone. But just how smart is that phone? It can give you directions, recommend a restaurant, even let your parents keep an eye on where you are. In this talk we will take that a step further to see how our phones can help us make boating safer. If you have seen popular crabbing TV shows, you have seen how dangerous commercial fishing can be. We will discuss the ins and outs of writing an app to try to alleviate some of that risk.

April 6, 2013 - “Why do Doctors Need Math to Treat Diabetes?” An interactive session led by Dr. Boris Kovatchev, University of Virginia

When we eat candy, chocolate, ice cream, or cereal, the sugar from these foods enters our bodies and is then “burned” with the help of a hormone called insulin to give us energy to move around. In fact, our brains eat mostly sugar, so without sugar we won’t be able to even think. This is called “metabolism” – the engine that makes us tick. Kids and adults who have diabetes don’t make enough insulin, so they need additional insulin injections to make their bodies work. How much, however, is very important – less insulin or more insulin can cause all kinds of trouble, and can be even deadly. So, doctors need Math to be able to precisely tell how much and when to inject insulin. And when it comes to computers that inject insulin, then the Math becomes even more important and more complicated.

In this talk we’ll learn how Math can help treat diabetes, and even make possible an amazing device – the artificial pancreas – which will one day take care of kids and adults with diabetes safely and automatically.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

﻿A free event for all northwest Ohio families and the entire community. Featuring:

Three and a half hours of engaging, hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) activities from over 50 area businesses, schools and organizations

Free lunch and other refreshments (while supplies last)

Free take-home activities

Free STEM materials

Fun for the whole family

﻿What do you get when you cross a giant bubble,a snake, and a mechanical engineer?

You get... STEM in the Park

﻿Join us for a family day of hands-on fun at Bowling Green State University (rain or shine) featuring a free lunch, take-home STEM activities, and everything from sea creatures to pop rockets. You won’t want to miss it!

STEM in the Park will feature interactive displays and activities created by community partners and area universities to engage children of all ages in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Parking is free on campus in lots A & G on Wooster and 4, 4A & E on Thurstin. If it rains, we’ll hold the event inside Perry Field House. Click here for a campus map.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

KTU is a semester-long educational research program developed by the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in partnership with the Virginia 4-H, that puts scientists and engineers in front of children to encourage the exploration of intriguing topics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

After the success of KTU in 2009, 2010, & 2011, we are excited to announce the 2012 fall semester event at Virginia State University for kids between the ages of 9 and 12 (on September 30, 2012), living within a four-hour drive of the VSU campus. KTU is held in the same campus lecture halls used by VSU students. Hands-on activities follow each interactive session and an online component continues the interest and excitement after the campus activities have been completed.

Fall 2012 Registration Procedure• Online enrollment begins at 6 p.m. on Mon. September 5, 2012• 100 children will be accepted into the program• Those accepted will represent geographically diverse areas within a four-hour drive from the Virginia State University campus in Petersburg, VA.

Registration FeeIn order to keep up with the costs of providing a quality program, there will be a registration fee of $20.00 for the first child, and $10.00 for additional children in a family, payable upon registration (no refunds). The registration fee must be paid by check and pays for both the October & November KTU sessions; further directions will be given at the time of enrollment. The registration fee will cover the lunch for the registered child(ren) and parents and a t-shirt for the registered child(ren).

2012 VSU KTU Schedule

October 13, 2012- "Computer Science in the World: From Toy Brains to Keeping Trees Healthy" An interactive session led by Dr. Caitlin Kelleher

One of the coolest things about computer science is that you can use the tools of computing to help solve just about any problem you can find or imagine. In this talk, we'll look at how people teach computers to solve problems. We'll start by delving into the brains of electronic toys and then see how some computer scientists are approaching some of the biggest problems we face as a society.

Dr. Caitlin Kelleher is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Washington University in St. Louis. Her computer program, “Storytelling Alice,” has been shown to be influential in the teaching of computer programming to young females.

November 10, 2012- “Why Do We Care About Frogs' Health?”An interactive session led by Dr. Tyrone Hayes

We live in a world full of chemicals. They’re used to preserve and flavor food, help plants grow, kill bugs and other pests, dye fabrics and clean our homes. Chemicals help us in many aspects of our everyday lives. While some chemicals are not harmful to us, our pets, or the Earth, some can actually hurt our environment if not used properly. Our program will explore the world of chemical pollution and the many ways chemicals can be both helpful and harmful. We will examine the impacts chemicals can have on people, animals. Where are these chemicals coming from? How have frog populations, other animals, and humans suffered? And what can be done to help the frogs and improve our own health?

Dr. Tyrone Hayes is a Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Siemens Foundation, in partnership with the College Board, is sponsoring the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, which recognizes remarkable talent early on, fostering individual growth for high school students who are willing to challenge themselves through science research. Through this competition, students have an opportunity to achieve national recognition for science research projects that they complete in high school. Students or teams of students can enter to win scholarships of up to $100,000 for their work. Registration is open. Visit the College Board websitehttp://siemens.collegeboard.org/ for more information. The deadline for project submission is Monday, October 1, 2012, at 5:00 pm EST.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Seeing the picture from Mars is pretty cool! Check out this website for information about the Mars Science Laboratory--including videos, pictures, activities for students and Dr. C-- a computerized scientist designed to answer questions about Mars. The real Dr. C--i.e. Dr. Christensen, gave a talk at the 2009 Kids' Tech University!